Method of making bottle carriers



Feb. 20, 1940. H. z. GRAY 2,191,197

METHOD OF MAKING BOTTLE CARRIERS Filed June 2, 1939 INVENTOR HARRY Z. GRAY ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 20, 1940 UNITED STATES METHOD or MAKING BOTTLE caaamas y Barry Z. Gray, Lebanon, Ohio I Application June 2, 1939, SerlalNo. 210,939

Claims.

This invention relates to methods of making bottle carriers, and more especially it relates to improved procedure for the manufacture of bottle carriers of heavy, stiff cardboard or similar material, which carriers support the bottles solely by engagement with the necks thereof.

The bottle carrier constituting the product of the improved method is-essentially similar to the bottle carrier constituting thesubject matter of my copendingapplication for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial No. 163,019, filed September 9, 1937.

The chief objects of the invention are to pro-,

vide in an improved and more facile manner for the manufacture of bottle carriers of the character mentioned; and to provide a. method that is adapted to be practised by mechanical means, thus effecting a saving of time and labor. In

general, the invention aims to provide a method by means of which bottle carriers are readily produced in quantity and at low cost. Other objects will be manifest as the specification proceeds. I

Of the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a cardboard blank cut to shape and apertured, the production of which constitutes the first step of the improved method;

Fig. 2 is an edge of said blank;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank as it appears after the first folding operation;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the blank as it appears after the second folding operation;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating one way of severing a margin of the structure shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a similar perspective view illustrating another way of severing a margin of the folded blank; and

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a bottle carrier produced by the method of the invention.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is shown a bottle carrier blank ll] of cardboard or other suitable foldable sheet material, which blank may be died or otherwise. severed from a larger sheet of the material. The blank is rectangular in plan and consists of four integral panels A, B, C and D, respectively, of which the end panels A and D are slightly narrower than the intermediate panels B and C. The longitudinal margins of the blank II] are arcuately indented, as shown at II, II, at the lines of juncture of adjacent panels. At the juncture of panels B, C, the blank is slit at l2, which slit terminates somewhat short of the opposite margins of the blank to provide unsevered connections between said panels, said connections however being weakened by a series of spaced, narrow incisions extending partly through the blank from the under side thereof as indicated by broken lines at l3, l3. At the juncture of panels A, B, 6 and C, D, the blank is incised at ll, respectively, from the under side of the blank, said incisions extending partly through the blank and forming weakened lines along which the blank -subsequently is folded. Panels A and B are 10 creased, scored or furrowed at l6, II, which creases or furrows are parallel to incision H and spaced equidistant laterally thereof, said furrows being on opposite sides of the blank and constituting lines of fiexure in the finished carrier as subsequently will be explained. In like manner panels C and D are creased or furrowed at l8, IS. The panels A, B, C, and D also are formed with apertures, which apertures conveniently may be formed concurrently with the cutting of the blank from the larger sheet of material. Thus each blank is formed with an elongated hand-grip or finger opening formed adjacent fold lines H or l5, and with three apertures for receiving. the neck of a bottle, the latter apertures being formed along the marginal edge of each panel remote from its fold line, and being designated 2| in panels A and D and designated 22in the panels B and C. Apertures 2|, 22 are of somewhat different contour and function in a manner. subsequently to be explained. The arrangement is such that the blank may be said to consist of two, identical, aligned sections disposed on opposite sides of theslit l2, the panels A, B constituting subsections of one of the said sections, and panels C, D constituting subsections of the other of said sections.

- After the blank ll), constructed as described, has been produced, the next step of the method is to apply an adhesive, such as glue, to the blank in two, separated, local zones or regions 24, 25 thereof, said regions extending transversely of the blank and longitudinally of panels or.subsections B and C thereof, on the upper face of the blank as it appears in Fig. 1. The width of the glued zones 24, 25 is such as to extend from thecreases 11,18 of the respective panels Band C to the adjacent margin of the apertures 20 therein. The next step of the method is to fold the two outermost panels or subsections A, D over onto the intermediate panels B, C, to form a two-ply structure, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3, the glue zones 24, 25 thus being disposed between the panels A, B and C, D, respectively, and serving accomplished, namely, byslitting. Thus the unsevered portion of the structure at each end of permanently to adhere the same to each other. The folding operation described is facilitated by the presence of the incisions ll, it between the outermost panels and the intermediate panels. When the blank is folded as shown in Fig. 3, the finger openings 20 of panels A and D are exactly in registry with the apertures or finger openings 2d of panels B and C, respectively, and the apertures 2! of panels A and D are partly in registry with the apertures 22of panels B and C. Because panels A and D are narrower than the panels B and C.their adjacent margins will be disposed somewhat laterally of the slit l2 between panels B and C, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. After the blank is folded as in Fig. 3, the next step of the method is to apply a local zone of adhesive material 21 to the exposed face of one of the subsections, herein shown as panel A, said zone being of such width as to extend from the crease I 6 to the adjacent margin of aperture 20, and of such length as to extend from end to end of the panel. After the glue zone 21 is applied,-the sections of the two-ply structure are folded along slit I 2 to bring panels A and D into face to face relation with glue zone 21 therebetween and thereby to form the four-ply structure shown in Fig. 4 wherein all of the finger openings and bottle neck receiving openings are in substantial registration. The arrangement is such that the four panels are permanently held together in face to face relation by the glued zones 24, 25 and 21, all of which zones are disposed on the same side of the creases I6 to IS. on the other side of the latter, panels B and C are still united at their margins by reason of the unsevered regions at each end of the slit I2.

The final step of the process'consists of separating the two sections which are still connected at the adjoining margins of panels: B and C.

Figure 5 shows one manner in which this'may be slit I2 may be severed by means of a rotary cutter 29 that is disposed parallel to the plane of the folded carrier structure, the cutter entering between panels B and C and severing the connecting material that originally united said panels.

Alternatively, the panels B and C may be separated by severing a narrow strip of material from their conjoined margins. As shown in Fig.

'6, this may be done by rotary shears consisting of cooperating discs 3|, not which 3| is a cutter. This method removes a strip 33 from the folded carrier structure and thus separates panel B from panel C. This completes the manufacture of the carrier.

The finished bottle carrier is shown in Fig. '1 wherein it will be seen that the portions of the panels that are adhered to each other constitute a hand-grip portion, and the unadhered portions of the panels constitute flaps that are hingedly connected to .the hand-grip portion along the creases or furrows IE to IS. The said flaps are movable relatively of each other, and when the carrier is in use two of the flaps extendobliquely laterally to one side of the hand-grip portion and two extend obliquely laterally to the other side of the hand-grip portion. When two companion fiaps'are in face to face relation, the apertures 22 of one flap partly overlap the apertures 2| of the other flap to define a series of through openings in the. flaps, which openings are of smaller size than the bead portion on the necks of bottles, but larger than said necks,

whereby the bottles may be retained in said oper lugs and lifted by means of the carrier. .Sinr the flaps are movable relatively of each othe they are readily separated to enable the bee portions of the bottles to be passed through th respective apertures 2|, 22 in succession, in th mounting or removal of the carrier.

The improved method enables the bottle car riers to be.manufactured rapidly in large quan titles at low cost, and achieves the other object set out in the foregoing statement of objects.

Other modification may be resorted to withou departing from the spirit of the invention or th scope thereof as defined by the appended claim:

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making bottle carriers whicl comprises forming a blank of cardboard or simi lar sheet material, which blank consists of a suc cession of four 'panels constituting two connecte sections of two subsections each, applying a zon of adhesive material locally to one subsection 0 each section, folding the two end subsections out their companion sections and adhering then thereto by means of said zones of adhesive mate rial, applying a zone of adhesive material locall: to the exposed face of one of the subsections 0 the folded structure, folding the latter along it medial line to bring the two sections together wit] the. zone of adhesive material therebetween t produce a four-ply structure, and thereaftersep arating the sections along the line upon whicl the structure was last folded.

2. The method of making bottle carriers whicl comprises forming and suitably aperturing a blanl of cardboard or similar sheet material, whicl blank consists of a succession of four panels constituting two connected sections of two subsections each of which the end panels are somewha1 narrower than the intermediate panels thereof applying a zone of adhesive material, transversely of the blank, locally to one subsection of 'eacl: pair of subsections, folding the two end panel: onto said intermediate panels so they are adhered thereto by said adhesive material therebetween, to form a two-ply structure, applying a zone of adhesive material locally to the exposed face of one of the panels of the folded structure. folding the latter along its medial line to bring one section thereof onto the other section with the zone of adhesive materialtherebetween, and thereafter eliminating the connection between the panels that originally were the two intermediate panels of the blank.

3. A method as defined in claim 2 in which the last step is effected by removing a narrow strip of material from the conjoined margins of the panels.

4. The method of making bottle carriers which comprises forming and suitably aperturing a rectangular blank of cardboard or similar sheet material, which blank consists of a series of four panels, bringing said panels into face to face relation to provide a four-ply structure, and concurrently adhering said panels to each other on one side of the longitudinal center-lineof the folded structure, whereby the unadhered portions of the panels on the other side of the center-line of the structure may be separated and flexed relatively of each other to constitute a plurality of flaps.

5. The method of making bottle carriers which comprises providing two aligned sections of cardboard or similar sheet material, in which each section comprises a pair of subsections separated by fold lines and having cooperating finger openin'gs formed adjacent said fold lines and bottle neck receiving openings formed along the marginal edges of each section remote from its fold line, applying to one subsection of each pair a zone of adhesive material adjacent the finger opening, folding the two end subsections so as to lie upon the respective companion subsections to cause them to adhere by means of said zones of adhesive, applying an additional zoneofv adhesive material to the exterior of one of the 'folded subsections adjacent its finger opening,

and thereafter bringing the faces of the two sections together with the last mentioned zone of adhesive material therebetween to produce a four-ply structure in which all of the finger; openings and bottle neck receiving openings are in substantial registration.

HARRY Z. GRAY. 

